Project Alpha

by D. J. MacHale

  Chris’s image appeared on the forward monitor looking as calm as if he were relaxing in a rocking chair.

  “Nothing to worry about,” he said. “This won’t last.”

  “It better not or I’m losing lunch,” Gabriel said.

  The thrashing lasted a few seconds longer; then the ride leveled out and it was smooth sailing once again. The crew looked to one another, waiting for somebody to say something.

  “My head is still spinning,” Carly said.

  “So is my stomach,” Piper added.

  “Let’s not do that again,” Gabriel said while taking off his flight glasses.

  “Guys,” Dash said, “look.”

  He pointed to the forward window, where the deep green horizon of this new world stretched out before them.

  “Welcome to J-16,” Dash said.

  There was nothing left to do except hunt down a dinosaur.

  —

  Carly gathered the crew, along with Chris and STEAM, in the recreation room. She stood in front of the monitor that showed a constantly changing collage of images of tropical jungle taken on the planet’s surface.

  “I’ve been studying J-16,” she began while referring to the notes she had on her Mobile Tech Band. “I know this planet, and I know the creatures on it. I’ve put together a plan for going after a Raptogon. Dash and I discussed it, and he’s on board.”

  “You talked to Dash about it and not the rest of us?” Gabriel asked.

  “I’m telling you now,” she replied. “I wanted to make sure my ideas made sense.”

  “Yeah, whatever,” Gabriel said, tweaked.

  An image of a Raptogon appeared on the monitor.

  “We learned during the challenge at Base Ten that a Raptogon is big. It could stand as high as four stories, but it’s hard to be accurate because there’s no frame of reference with these images. It could be smaller.”

  “Or much bigger,” Piper said.

  “Right,” Carly replied. “We also know that it’s sensitive to bright light, and therefore doesn’t come out during the day. It’s nocturnal. That’s when it hunts.”

  “Should we find where one of these guys sleeps and sneak up on it?” Piper asked.

  “No,” Carly replied. “They live deep in caves to stay out of the light. I think it would be crazy to corner one in there. We could get trapped, and they’re meat-eaters.”

  “So that means we have to hunt it at night?” Gabriel asked. “That’s almost as scary.”

  The image on the screen changed to a picture of a gnarly little beastie that seemed like a cross between a possum and a turtle. It had a vicious-looking pointed white face with red eyes and rows of needlelike sharp teeth. Its body was covered with a rounded shell, under which were short, stubby legs and paws with protruding claws.

  “That’s just disgusting,” Gabriel said.

  “This is the main food source for the Raptogon,” Carly said. “It’s about the size of a small raccoon. I call it a varmint, just because it is.”

  On the monitor came a video of these little creatures skittering through tall, blue-green grass. It was night and a bright light from the probe lit up the area. The varmints moved fast, with a few walking curiously up to the unmanned craft to sniff its camera with their long snouts.

  “Gross,” Piper said.

  “They move in packs and they’re fast,” Carly explained. “Raptogons love munching on these little creeps.”

  On the monitor, a giant, scaly claw with four talons reached into the frame and snatched up a varmint. The varmint squirmed frantically, but the massive talons wrapped around it and pulled it out of frame. The next image was the monstrous clawed foot of a Raptogon. The claws were so long they couldn’t be completely seen. The monster took one step directly in front of the camera, then its long, reptilian tail slid past as the Raptogon walked off with lunch.

  “And that was a Raptogon,” Carly said.

  The others sat there, stunned.

  “It’s…really big,” Piper said softly.

  “This is my plan,” Carly said. “Dash, Gabriel, and Piper will go down to the planet’s surface. I’ll stay up here and monitor the movements of the creatures and tell you their position. The first thing to do is round up as many of those little varmints as possible. We’ll use them as bait. When night falls, you’ll wait for the Raptogon to come looking for dinner. When the monster is close enough, Dash will hit it with the energy cannon and knock it out.”

  “And how do we yank the tooth?” Gabriel asked.

  “I have fabricated a device,” Chris said, speaking for the first time. He held up a stainless-steel contraption that had a hinge and sharp-toothed jaws. “This will clamp around one of the Raptogon’s smaller front incisors. Once it’s firmly fastened to the tooth, you can attach it by rope to Piper’s chair. The power in that chair should be enough to extract the tooth.”

  “So I’m the one who has to pull it out?” Piper asked, unsure.

  “Yes.”

  “Again, gross,” Piper said with a shudder.

  “What about you, genius?” Gabriel asked. “Aren’t you going with us?”

  “I am more valuable on the Cloud Leopard,” Chris replied.

  “You mean because if anything happens to us, you’re the uber-brain who can get to the next planet,” Gabriel said.

  “That is exactly right,” Chris replied with no apology.

  “Okay, just wanted to know where we stand,” Gabriel said.

  “Have you told Commander Phillips about the plan?” Piper asked.

  “No,” Dash replied. “As soon as we entered orbit, we lost communication.”

  “Seriously?” Piper asked, surprised. “We can’t talk to Earth?”

  Chris said, “I believe the problem is atmospheric interference from J-16.”

  “Who cares?” Gabriel said. “Every time we talk to that guy, he gives us bad news.”

  “Any questions?” Carly asked.

  “Are you okay with not going down to the planet?” Piper asked. “I mean, this is what it’s all about.”

  “I’m dying to see the dinosaurs, but I think I’m more valuable up here. So yeah, I’m okay with it.”

  “Five more planets to go,” Dash said. “Plenty more chances to explore.”

  “I’ve got a question,” Gabriel said. “How are we supposed to catch those nasty little rodents?”

  Carly changed the monitor to a hand-drawn diagram that looked like a wide V on top of a rectangle.

  “This is a simple drawing, but it should make sense,” Carly said. “Imagine that you’re looking down on it from above.”

  “The V is a chute,” Dash said. “We’ll build walls using lightweight space-blanket material.” He pointed to the rectangle and added, “This is the trap we’ll build out of materials from the engine room. We’ll herd the varmints into the chute and force them toward the point and into the trap.”

  “And hope Godzilla shows up looking for dinner,” Carly said.

  “What if one doesn’t come?” Gabriel asked.

  “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Chris said. “The bigger worry is if more than one shows up.”

  —

  The next day was spent preparing. Gabriel took the lead and used his mechanical skills to fashion a large “trap” out of lightweight mesh panels he took from the walls in the engine room. STEAM fused the seams together, and they ended up with a large square basket that was roughly the size of a small car. They created a swinging hatch on one surface that the varmints would enter through, and then it would close down to prevent them from escaping. The entire frame was hinged so it could fold together into a flat surface for transport.

  Dash gathered the rest of the gear they would need. Besides his energy cannon, he brought tools to build the chute and a long length of climbing rope to pull the tooth. He found two four-foot-long rolls of silver space-blanket material that was intended to make a shelter in a survival situation, but would now be used to create the walls of the
trap’s chute. He also practiced with Chris’s tooth clamp and made sure to bring two high-powered flashlights. With the Raptogon’s sensitivity to light, he figured those lights might very well save their lives.

  Piper put together a first-aid kit. She packed extra bandages and antiseptic cream for fear there would be multiple cuts from moving through the dense jungle. She also packed enough food and water to last them a day or two on the planet’s surface. The Cloud Leopard was stocked with more than enough fruit and vegetables to last the crew for the year they would be in space. It was kept fresh in specially sealed containers.

  Carly sat at a monitor in the library, scanning the planet’s surface for Raptogons. She was able to detect life forms from the heat they gave off and track them as they moved. She couldn’t tell what the creatures were, but she could estimate their size. The larger the heat signature, the larger the creature…and several large heat sources roamed the valley where the crew would land.

  The equipment was loaded into the hovercraft, which was a circular, open-air, four-seat vehicle that would skim across the ground on a cushion of energy, much like Piper’s wheelchair.

  The hovercraft was then loaded into the bay of the Cloud Cat.

  Within twenty-four hours of arriving in orbit, the Alpha crew was loaded and ready to go on a dinosaur hunt. The plan was to launch the Cloud Cat just before dawn. That would give the team a full day to build the chute and capture some varmints before the sun set and the Raptogons went on the move.

  After the long day of work, the crew gathered for a final meal. The ZRKs made everyone’s favorites without being asked. It was as if they knew it was a special meal.

  The kids ate silently. Their minds were on the next day and the dangers they would face.

  “This is wrong,” Piper finally said.

  “What is?” Carly asked.

  “I can’t live with so much tension.”

  She floated away from the table and zipped out of the mess hall.

  The other three kids were left staring at each other in confusion.

  “What was that all about?” Carly asked.

  “She didn’t, like, snap, did she?” Gabriel asked. “No way I’m going into dinosaur land with somebody who can’t handle it. Heck, I’m not even sure I can handle it!”

  “You can,” Dash said reassuringly. “If things get dangerous, we’ll just bail and figure something else out.”

  “Seriously?” Gabriel said. “That Raptogon hologram at Base Ten almost ate you, remember? The ones here are real. They might pass over those ugly little varmints and go right for the main course…us.”

  “And I’ll knock it out,” Dash said with confidence. “I’m not worried.”

  Carly and Gabriel exchanged looks.

  They were worried.

  Dash stood. “I’m going to see what’s up with Piper.”

  He went for the door, but before he reached it, it slid open. Outside were Piper, STEAM, and Chris.

  Piper floated into the room. Chris and STEAM stayed outside.

  “What’s going on?” Dash asked, confused.

  “I don’t like that we weren’t told the whole truth any more than you guys do,” Piper said. “But it happened and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

  “Yeah, so?” Gabriel said.

  “So I want to get this job done and go home. If we’re going to do that, we’ll need help from everybody, not just the four of us. We’ve got a bona fide genius on board. I don’t want to spend the next year being angry and pretending like he’s the enemy. He needs us. That’s why we’re here. But we need him too. He’s part of the crew, and a crew should eat together.”

  Dash, Carly, and Gabriel looked at one another, waiting for somebody to say something.

  Carly stood up and moved her chair over, making room at the table.

  “None of us have much of an appetite right now,” she said to Chris. “But we always eat together because it makes us feel like we’re a normal family.”

  Chris entered and walked slowly to the table. STEAM hung close behind him. Chris moved to the spot that Carly had cleared and looked at each of them in turn.

  “Thank you,” he said. “I understand how you feel about me, and I don’t blame you. But I want you to know that this mission is my life. I will do everything I can to make it successful, and to get you all home safely.”

  “You better,” Gabriel said. “Or I’m keeping your dog.”

  Planet J-16 was warmed by a sun similar to Earth’s. As the new day arrived, bright light spread over the valley where the Cloud Cat would land, sending the Raptogons into their caves. When darkness returned, they would be back.

  Hunting.

  Gabriel sat in the pilot seat of the Cloud Cat, running through his preflight checklist as Carly entered.

  “Hey,” Gabriel said. “Why aren’t you in the library scanning for monsters?”

  “I wanted to wish you luck.”

  “Thanks. You too.”

  Carly looked troubled, as if she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure if she should.

  “What?” Gabriel asked.

  “I know you don’t like being told what to do,” she said cautiously. “But sometimes it’s good to listen.”

  “Okay, I’m listening.”

  “Not to me,” Carly said. “To Dash.”

  Gabriel stiffened and pretended to be focused on his monitor.

  “He was made commander for a reason,” Carly said.

  “Yeah,” Gabriel shot back. “By Phillips. I’m not a big fan of his.”

  “I know, but Dash is smart. He always looks at stuff and tries to come up with the best answers.”

  “Like telling me how to fly?” Gabriel asked, annoyed.

  “Well, yeah,” Carly said with confidence. “And he was right.”

  Gabriel shot her a hurt look.

  “You’re an awesome pilot,” Carly continued. “There’s nobody I want flying us around more than you, but Dash’s job is to look at the big picture. All I’m saying is don’t blow him off. It might get hairy down there and I don’t want to lose anybody.”

  Gabriel looked into Carly’s eyes and saw how genuinely worried she was.

  “I hear you,” Gabriel said. “Teamwork and all that. Don’t worry. Dash is the boss, but I’m still gonna have opinions.”

  Carly smiled with relief. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.”

  “Ready to fly?” Piper said brightly as she flew up onto the flight deck.

  Dash was right behind her.

  “Hovercraft is secure,” he announced. “Nothing left to do but get out of here.”

  “Good luck, guys,” Carly said. “I’ll be watching.”

  She jogged down the ramp and out of the shuttle as the others strapped into their flight seats.

  “Closing up,” Gabriel announced as the ramp lifted and sealed the craft.

  “We’re secure. Everybody set?” he asked.

  Piper and Dash gave him a thumbs-up.

  “Closing the air lock,” Gabriel announced.

  With a whoosh of air, the heavy door that sealed off the launch bay from the rest of the Cloud Leopard was closed…and the crew went weightless.

  “Opening launch doors,” Gabriel announced.

  The large door at the stern of the Cloud Leopard slowly retracted, revealing a glorious field of stars above and the curved green horizon of J-16 below.

  Gabriel put on his flight glasses and announced, “The Cloud Cat is on the prowl. Next stop, Jurassic Park.”

  In the library, Carly, Chris, and STEAM watched a monitor with the live image from a camera mounted in the nose of the Cloud Cat. They were about to fly right along with them.

  The shuttle lifted slowly from the deck and drifted forward.

  Dash looked back to Piper and gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.

  Piper returned a nervous smile.

  Three hearts were beating very quickly.

  The Cloud Cat floated through the launch doors a
nd was soon clear of the mother ship. It drifted away for several seconds, putting distance between the two ships.

  Gabriel announced, “Five seconds to insertion burn. Four…three…two…one. Let’s go!”

  The Cloud Cat shot forward as its main engine kicked in. The acceleration forced the crew back into their seats as the green glow of J-16 grew larger in front of them.

  “Eeehaaa!” Piper exclaimed with exhilaration.

  The shuttle buffeted and jumped as it pierced the atmosphere.

  Gabriel desperately wanted to take control. He glanced to Dash, who frowned and said, “Don’t.”

  Gabriel sat back and took off his flight glasses, just to avoid the temptation.

  In minutes, the force of gravity took over as the Cloud Cat flashed toward the ground. All eyes were on the wraparound window that gave them a panoramic view of their destination. They flew over an enormous blue ocean, which made it difficult to judge their altitude.

  “Shoreline coming up,” Gabriel announced.

  A long strip of dark green appeared in the distance.

  “There’s the coast,” Gabriel announced. “Five minutes until touchdown.”

  They flashed across the shoreline and flew over dense jungle for a minute before reaching a massive cliff, on top of which was a thick stand of tall trees.

  “Once we clear the trees, we should see the valley,” Gabriel announced.

  The treetop canopy grew larger as they rapidly lost altitude.

  “It’s so beautiful,” Piper said. “And totally wild.”

  The Cloud Cat was low enough that they could make out flocks of birds shooting up and out of the trees.

  “I feel like we went back in time,” Dash said.

  “Two minutes to touchdown,” Gabriel declared. “There’s the valley.”

  Far ahead of them, the tree canopy ended and gave way to the wide, grassy valley they had all seen on the footage shot by the unmanned lander.

  “Right on target,” Gabriel said as the Cloud Cat banked automatically to the left to enter the valley and line up for landing. They were now low enough so that the two ridges of mountains that formed the valley rose above them. The navigation program was working perfectly.

  Too perfectly.